A commonly held story about Africa is changing. The story, that Africa has no culture outside of its interactions with Europe, is eroding. In the first selection, Ben Okri explains that storis are both the oldest technology. He also posits that stories have the power to change the world. The stories we tell shape our past and are the "blueprints" of our future. This means that the words we use can have a material effect in the world. The former narrative of Africa, that it is archaic and backwards, is dying. A new story of Africa is emerging. Africa is powerful, ancient, and full of its own culture. The second piece above, on Ironworking, challenges the old notion that iron was discovered in Turkeia. Evidence now places the discovery of iron in central Africa, too. When taken together, these two pieces show that Africa has always had an important story to tell, and science is backing that story up.